


With Great Power...

by TheLostGirl21



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-30
Updated: 2013-04-30
Packaged: 2017-12-10 01:12:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/780056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLostGirl21/pseuds/TheLostGirl21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>...comes great responsibility.  Or so they say.  ;  b</p><p>Sadly for our young human Spectres, some responsibilities are more grueling than others.  When faced with such painful, difficult trials, it is always good to be able to confront them in the company of two companions that have always had your back.</p><p>And to be reminded that, no matter how dark the night, the moon will always be there - watching - its presence ever comforting.  All the moon needs in return to shine bright, is a little sunlight.  ;  b</p>
            </blockquote>





	With Great Power...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fucknooovirmire (on Tumblr)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Fucknooovirmire+%28on+Tumblr%29).
  * Inspired by [Spectres at (paper) work](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/20831) by Fucknoooovirmire. 



> This was written for one of my good friends on Tumblr, Fucknooovirmire ( http://fucknooovirmire.tumblr.com/ ), who was kind enough to do some renders / montages of Ashley watching over a wounded Kaidan after he was injured on Mars, so that I could use them on my Kaidan "Mass Effect Aftermath" RPG blog ( http://kaidan-alenko-aftermath.tumblr.com/MainEventsBeforeRPG ).
> 
> Once again THANK YOU SO MUCH for having taken the time to do these montages! I really appreciate it!
> 
> And I hope that you enjoy this little piece of writing. ; b
> 
> Big Hugs!  
> X X X

“You know, Skipper, if you’d told us that being a Spectre was such a drag, perhaps we’d have thought twice about joining the club.” Ashley moaned pitifully, turning her datapad upside down – then back up again – trying to make sense of all the numbers and words written on it.

 

“With great power - comes great… shitload of paperwork.” Shepard conceded.  This was exactly the kind of thing that almost made him regret the good old days when he’d been working for a terrorist organization.  _Almost._   Still, having Miranda around to fill in all the paperwork had been rather pleasant.

 

“What’s even the point?  I mean, ‘Spectre division expenses report’?  _Really?_   It’s not like the Council is ever going to decide to pitch in, and start financing our operations anyway!”

 

“Maybe not.  But maybe they just want to ask the Alliance if they believe that they can really afford a fourth Spectre by showing them how much having three of us operational at the same time is costing them.” Kaidan offered quietly, always one to play devil’s advocate. “Plus, the Alliance doesn’t cover clean up charges or how much it costs them to try avoiding diplomatic incidents.  Or, you know, _a full-scale war_ …”

 

“HEY!  I had no other choice but to blow up that system, you know that.” Shepard objected with an indignant look.  Yeah, he would have liked to see someone else try to do better!

 

“I know Shepard, and I didn’t mean that it wasn’t justified.  You bought us a lot of time that day and you made the right choice.  I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if you’d been unable to make that decision.” he clarified, making it plain that he wasn’t questioning his actions. “But, like it or not, that’s a lot of time and efforts that the Council had to take to deal with the repercussions – meet with the Hegemony, make concessions to appease them...”

 

“Well, it’s about time these assholes started being useful!” Ashley pitched in, her heavy dislike of the Council’s politics and reluctance to act not being a secret to anyone by now.

 

“You know that they’re _sort of_ our bosses, Ash.” Kaidan admonished quietly, though he couldn’t hide the small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

 

“Yeah, but you guys are also technically my ‘bosses’, and that’s never stopped me from calling either of you an ‘ass’.” she teased, making Shepard chuckle.

 

“She’s got a point!”

 

“Look, all I’m saying is that – from a monetary perspective, at least – whether they are financing us or not, the Council has an interest in knowing how much our operations cost.” Kaidan pointed out, trying for a last time to get his point across.  He then took a long look at his own datapad, and let out a heavy sigh. “Still I’d _really_ love to have the option to tell them to take these damn reports, and shove it up their…”

 

“ _Finally_ a language I can understand!” Ashley said with a laugh, leaning a bit over to Kaidan’s side of the bed, raising her hand to give him a high five.

 

“ ’bout time you joined us in our despair, Major!”

 

“Oh, don’t worry; I’m right there with you.  I’ve _always_ been with you.” he answered, leaning a bit to the side and meeting Ashley’s hand with his own half way.  “I’m just trying to actually deal with the problem instead of just complaining about it.”

 

“We’re not complaining, we’re brainstorming and problem solving.” Ash pointed out, doing her best to sound serious.

 

“Yeah, besides it’s not our fault that you’ve got such a short attention span, and can’t seem to concentrate.”  Shepard teased, turning his head a bit to the side to take a better look at him.

 

“And the constant chatter is not making it any easier, let me tell you!” Kaidan replied, starting to wonder if completing these reports together had been such a good idea in terms of optimizing efficiency.

 

“Are all these numbers and dots on the datapad reminding you of a strawberry field, Major?” Shepard added with a half smile, eyes sparkling with mirth.

 

Kaidan chuckled and punched him on the arm lightly.  “Shut up!”  He then brought his attention back to the task at hand.

 

“Seriously though, he’s right.  The sooner we get this thing done, the sooner we can move on to something else.”  _Anything else_ , really.  If they kept staring at these numbers much longer, Ash felt that she was about to go mad!

 

“I’ll drink to that!”  Kaidan agreed absentmindedly, meanwhile trying to come up with a system to categorize the data...

 

“ _Now_ I like where this is going!  Be right back guys!” 

 

And just like that, Shepard was gone.  Ash began playing with her nails, patiently waiting for him to come back.

 

“Did Shepard say where he was going?” Kaidan asked about five minutes later, having seemingly just realized that Shepard had left.

 

“Okay, Skipper _really_ wasn’t kidding about the short attention span thing…” Ashley chuckled, throwing him an amused, disbelieving look.

 

_“What?”_

 

“I got the booze!” Shepard announced triumphantly, coming in with two bottles tucked underneath each arm, one in his hand, and three glasses held between his fingers in the other.

 

“Oh yeah, I see _a lot of work_ being done with that scenario.” Kaidan said with a little frown, wondering if Shepard wasn’t set on doing his damnedest best to make sure that they’d never be able to hand those in on time.

 

“Relax Kaidan, it’s TM88 Peruvian whiskey.” he tempted him, knowing how much the other man enjoyed whiskey.

 

“And I appreciate that,” Kaidan replied, actually grateful for the attention “but how exactly is this going to help us concentrate?”

 

“Well, the label here says that it has medicinal properties: ‘Known for having both a calming influence and the ability to stimulate blood flow…’  So, you know, maybe we wouldn’t be so tense about these reports, and able to think better if the blood flow to our brains was increased.” Shepard offered as an argument, trying to make them see the logic of his reasoning.

 

“Or maybe I’d wind up with one hell of a headache instead…” he pointed out, but immediately felt bad about it, since he knew that Shepard only had the best of intentions and was actually looking to do something to please them.  “Though as long as it doesn’t dilate blood vessels, I suppose it would be okay…  _And why won’t Ashley stop snickering?_ ”

 

Ever since Shepard had begun reading that label, she’d been trying – and failing – to keep herself from laughing.

 

“Yeah, what’s up, Ash?”

 

For some reason, that did it!  She erupted in a fit of laughter that lasted a few minutes, holding her stomach and desperately trying to catch her breath.

 

“I think we’ve lost her…” Kaidan pointed out with an amused smile, wondering what they’d missed.

 

“Oh god…”  “Sorry.” Ashley said between short breaths “It’s just…  _‘Stimulate blood flow’_ , _‘tense’_ , _‘what’s up’_ …  I just…”

 

“ _Really?_ ” Kaidan asked, eyes narrowing as he finally got the implication.

 

Shepard frowned a little, suddenly looking very pensive.  “You know, I never thought about it that way…”

 

“Well, considering that this is what you bought me while I was still recovering at the hospital, this is rather reassuring.”  Not exactly the most appropriate place to try to get someone into bed.  Actually, it kinda was, just not into bed ‘into bed’.  _Damnit, Ash!_

 

“Really, Skipper?  Were you trying to lower Kaidan’s inhibitions and, well, raise other things?” she asked, still apparently amused beyond belief.

 

“I can certify that my intentions back then were perfectly noble!  I would never try to take advantage of any member of my crew while they are lying wounded – and shirtless – in a hospital bed.” Shepard said with a mock outraged look.

 

“Okay.” Ashley answered before her own look turned devilish “What about now?”

 

“Shhh…  Ash.  Let me live in the illusion.” Kaidan playfully shushed her, her amusement having turned contagious.

 

“You two are terrible.” Shepard reflected with a little shake of his head, trying to look discouraged with them, but failing.

 

“So, do we open that bottle or what?”  Ashley asked enthusiastically.

 

“How about we save it for a bit later.  Do as much as we can with all of our cognitive faculties intact, and use it in case all hope is lost, and it becomes an emergency.” Kaidan offered instead.

 

_“Spoilsport.”_

 

“Alright, let’s take a look at that thing…” Shepard said, jumping on the bed and returning to lie down on his initial spot.  “Okay, that’s not going to work.”

 

“What’s not working?”  Kaidan wondered, turning his head a little to take a better look at him.

 

“They want to know how much we spent in weapons and ammunitions…  Problem is, we usually buy all that stuff together…”

 

“I don’t see what’s the problem.  All we’ve got to do is take the total and divide by three.  Seems fair.”  Ash suggested, eliciting a loud scoff from the Major.

 

“What?”

 

“Yeah, two heavily armed trigger happy soldiers carrying a shitload of weapons with them; v.s. one lightly armed biotic with just a pistol and assault riffle, combining both firepower and biotic attacks.” Kaidan remarked.  “Tell me: how exactly is dividing the total by three going to make that fair?”

 

“Alright then.  We’ll say that Ash and I get both two fifths each, and you get one fifth, better?”  Shepard proposed instead.

 

The ‘lightly armed biotic’ nodded “I can work with that.”

 

“Okay, next section…  _Property damage?_ ” Shepard read.  Ah. _Great._

 

“Anyone else here suddenly feels like eating sushi?” Ashley asked with suppressed laughter.

 

“Did you tell our friends here about the damage you’ve caused to these poor, innocent fishes…” Kaidan added with mock compassion, pointing towards the cabin’s aquarium.

 

“It’s not my fault the mercenaries shot at the fish tank, alright!  We should have _them_ fill all these damned reports!”

 

“Now here’s a thought for a new form of torture.  _‘If you don’t collaborate, we’ll have you all fill our Spectre division expenses reports.’_ ” Kaidan chuckled.

 

“And here I thought we agreed that we’d just tell Kaidan to ask nicely, and threaten to start crying if they refused to play nice.” Shepard answered teasingly.

 

“Laugh it up all you want, but it worked!”

 

“A little too well if you ask me.  I’ve never seen a security guard look so distraught by the sight of someone’s tears.”  Ashley commented with a laugh.

 

“Told you! I’m an enigma.  I’ve got skills.”  Kaidan answered proudly.

 

“That you are.” she agreed, moving closer to him to playfully ruffle his hair.

 

“Major Kaidan Alenko, third human Spectre.  Skills include: Sentinel class L2 biotics; pistols and assault riffles proficiency; hand to hand combat; tech expertise; field medic; cooking; disarming puppy dog eyes; and crying on demand.”  Shepard began, making a list of said Major’s ‘skills’.

 

“You forgot a knack for stating the obvious, retro dancing, and noticing details that are completely irrelevant to the mission.”  Ashley began to add teasingly…  Only for Kaidan to answer by throwing her one of his best wounded puppy dog looks, effectively making her feel like the meanest human being in the galaxy.  _Damn it!_

 

“B-but you’ve got the biggest heart of anyone we know, and we’d totally be lost without you?” she immediately suggested, trying to make it up to him and feeling incredibly relieved when his previous look of disappointment transformed into the most delighted grin. 

 

Yeah, Kaidan’s damned puppy dog eyes were definitely one of his most dangerous and powerful weapons.

 

“Awww…  This calls for a group hug!” Shepard said, sitting up on the bed and opening his arms wide to them.  A second later he was tackled on both sides by his two companions.

 

“Sooo…  We still haven’t managed to get much done, have we?”  Kaidan said, holding them close for a moment and resting his head on Shepard’s shoulder, before gently running his hands across their backs.

 

“Nope!” Ashley answered, settling herself comfortably against Shepard’s chest, and closing her eyes.

 

“That back rub is rather nice though…” Shepard commented, giving voice to her thoughts.

 

“Hmmm-hmmm…” she agreed.

 

Kaidan only chuckled, thinking that relaxing a little might not do them so much harm after all.

 

\---

 

“This is just useless!” Ashley exclaimed with a grunt.  An hour later, and they still weren’t anywhere close to being finished!

 

“How are you holding up, Major?  Still seeing double?” Shepard asked the other man.  Kaidan was lying next to him on the bed, one arm supporting his head, and the other one resting over his eyes.

 

“No, but the lights hurt.” he answered quietly, hoping that the aura he was starting to experience wouldn’t evolve into a full-blown migraine.

 

“I don’t see any lights.  Why don’t you join me instead?” Shepard tried to offer helpfully.

 

“If I try to lie on my stomach and look down, I’m just going to throw up, Shep.”

 

“Want me to call Dr. Chakwas?” Ashley asked, suddenly concerned.  She knew how bad some of Kaidan’s migraines could get sometimes, especially when they involved other neurological manifestations.  So, if he was feeling nauseated right now…

 

“I’ll be fine, Ash.  But thanks.” It wasn’t that bad, really.  If he was lucky, this one might even be a ‘silent’ one.  It was just those damn lights!

 

“Okay then.  Want me to go close the lights?  Get you some water?  Give you a head massage?”

 

These offers, however, were starting to sound pretty damn appealing.

 

“I wouldn’t say no to less light... and a good head massage.” Kaidan answered, making Ashley chuckle.

 

“Of course that would require me to move from my own spot first…” she replied lazily from the place where she was currently sitting on the floor, her limbs feeling ridiculously heavy.

 

“Well, if the mission is too perilous…” Kaidan began, making her scoff quietly, while Shepard uttered a muffled laugh besides him.

 

“Don’t be silly, just give me a minute.”  With great efforts and _extreme_ willpower, she finally managed to stand up and go dampen the lights, before she slowly made her way to the bed, positioning herself behind Kaidan.

 

“Alright, sit up a bit so I can…” she waited for him to do as she’d said while she moved behind him, sitting with her legs on either side of his body.  She then gently grabbed Kaidan’s shoulders and made him lie back, so that his head was now resting on her chest.  “…here, perfect.  Just try to relax.” she instructed, as she began to move her fingers in deep, circular motions against his temples; before she moved to his forehead… then the sensitive spot between his eyebrows… then further down his scalp and the back of his head…

 

 _‘Okay, yeah, now this is starting to feel pretty amazing’_ Kaidan thought, making a mental note to never to refuse any of Ashley’s head massages.  _Ever._  Not that he usually did but still, _‘wow’._

 

He suddenly felt her ribcage shake with her quiet laughter.

 

“What?”

 

“You’re purring, Maj.” Ashley whispered tenderly.  Kaidan was sounding just like a big great cat.  Come to think of it, he could be just as cuddly, too.

 

“Well, you _are_ pretty good at that.” he replied with a smile, keeping his eyes closed and remaining focused on the pleasant sensations that appeared to be doing quite a good job at keeping the headache at bay.  Maybe he’d be able to escape that one, after all.

 

“My back is starting to hurt…” Shepard suddenly said from his spot next to them.

 

“Maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much if you sat back on your ass, Skipper.” Ash scoffed, knowing exactly what the Commander was after.

 

“See, favouritism.  If Kaidan’s the one suffering, you get all gentle and attentive.  But when I’m the one in pain here…” he whined, while sitting back up to face them.

 

Ashley, however, was still visibly unimpressed.  “That’s because I know you just enjoy complaining.”

 

 _‘Okay, let’s see how this works.’_ Shepard thought, before trying to give her his best sad, ‘puppy dog eyes’ look...  

 

Instead of moving her, however, he only succeeded in making both Kaidan and Ash laugh.

 

“Still not working.” she stated.

 

“Told you Shep, I’ve got skills!”

 

“Well, it was worth a try.” Shepard replied with a little shrug, slowly resigning himself to his tragic fate...

 

Nevertheless, Kaidan decided to take pity on him.  “You know, if you want a back massage, all you have to do is ask.  My hands are free.”

 

Shepard immediate perked up at that.  “Really?”

 

“Yeah, why not?”

 

“Okay then.” he said, smiling.  He supposed that asking politely was a pretty fair price.  “Would one of you be so kind to give me a back massage?”

 

“Sure.  Come sit here, and turn around.”  Kaidan told him, motioning to the spot between his own legs.  Once Shepard was sitting on the edge of the bed, comfortably within Kaidan’s hands’ reach, he began to gently massage his neck and shoulders, using his thumbs to look for any knots or tension points that he could help loosen up a bit…

 

“Okay.  Yeah.  That’s…  Rather nice.”  Actually, if it continued much longer, he was under the distinct impression that Kaidan wouldn’t be the only one purring.

 

Ashley chuckled lightly, watching her two guys both enjoying their massages, seemingly lost in their own worlds. “Now I’m the one starting to get jealous.”

 

“Just give us a few more minutes to enjoy this, Ash, and you’ll get your turn.”  Kaidan answered. 

 

It wasn’t like they had the habit of leaving anyone behind, after all.

 

“Promise?” she asked, though she trusted them to make good on their word.

 

“Have we ever let you down?” Shepard replied with a half smile...  “Trust me, by the time we’re both through with you, there won’t be a single tense muscle left in your body...”

 

“You know, I rather like the sound of that, Sir.”

 

\---

 

“Here’s to us, being awesome!” Ashley exclaimed, lifting her glass in a toast!

 

“Cheers!” her two companions answered, before they all drank.  Shepard and Ashley nearly gulping down the content of their glasses, while Kaidan only took a mouthful.

 

“So, do the bottles of whiskey that we are forced to drink in order to allow us to survive the unbearable pain and pure dullness of filling out ‘expenses reports” count as part of said reports?”  Ashley wondered...

 

“You know, that’s a really good question that requires much too much reflection…” Shepard replied, obviously not quite trusting in his abilities to do anything requiring some actual thinking right now.

 

“Kaidan?” she asked, voice a bit slurred.

 

“I’m very actively contemplating the subject…” he stated quietly, though it was clear that he wasn’t really considering it.

 

“Pffft!  _Liar._ And you’re not even half-drunk!” Ash scoffed; apparently annoyed that he was the only one left with the ability to actually _think_ , yet he wasn’t even taking the question more seriously.  Though, wait.  _‘What was the question again?’_

 

“That’s because I have a biotic metabolism, _and_ I have been drinking half as much as you two – taken _individually._ ” Kaidan pointed out.

 

“So we’d have to calculate these bottles two sixth…  No, fifth, and three…  I mean, one...  Ah...  Too?”  Shepard said, making the other man chuckle.

 

“Something like that.”  It’s not like there was any use in trying to enforce notions of arithmetic on any of them right now.

 

“Are we about done?” Ashley sighed, filling her glass and Shepard’s again.

 

“What?  Drinking?” Kaidan wondered, making her laugh drunkenly.

 

“No, silly.  With the reports?”

 

“I think the real question you should ask yourself, Ash, is _‘Have we even begun?’_ ” he pointed out.  It’s not like they’d manage to get anything done since their long – and very pleasant – earlier massage session.

 

“That bad, huh?” she stated a little sheepishly.

 

“Shhh…  Don’t ruin the mood.  Let’s think happy thoughts.” Shepard shushed them, not really in the mood for worrying about anything right now.

 

“You want me to let you live in the illusion?” Kaidan asked with an amused smile.

 

“Exactly!  Dream a little dream a little.”

 

“What?” Ashley asked, confused.

 

“That’s what I said.” Shepard answered, not making much more sense.

 

Kaidan stood up and began to look for something next to the bed’s drawers.  “We should have thought to bring in some food to go with that…”

 

Ashley scoffed.  “You’re always hungry, Maj.”

 

“Once again, biotic metabolism.” he pointed out, as if that should have been pretty obvious.

 

“Is there anything you don’t blame on biotic metabolism?” Shepard asked with a small laugh.

 

“My natural physical stamina?” he offered, having found a protein bar and coming back to sit with them.  Not exactly the best snack, but it’ll do.

 

“Oh god!”  Ash exclaimed.

 

“What?”

 

“Should we bring James in here again?” she asked.

 

Kaidan frowned, not sure that he was exactly following her line of thoughts.  Though he supposed that it was to be expected.  “Why’s that?”

 

“I could go for another round of that debate on the whole _‘who’s in better physical condition’_!”  Ashley teased.

 

“Yeah Kaidan, tell us again about you being _‘at the peak of your physical fitness’_.” Shepard joined in, suddenly appearing to be greatly enjoying himself.

 

“First, I was drunk.  And second, I _am_ pretty fit.” Kaidan answered.

 

“Uh-uh…”

 

“No, really!  Just because James and I don’t share the same body type, and I don’t put on as much bulk as he does, it doesn’t mean that I lack physical strength and endurance.  Besides, with the biotics, I have to be able to move with more speed and agility.” he went on, oblivious to the fact that he had totally taken the bait.

 

“Uh-uh…”

 

“Seriously!  Unless you’re looking to be a goddamn tank in battle or something, or to rely almost exclusively on firepower, you have to make sure that your muscle mass remains leaner and more flexible and…”  Kaidan suddenly stopped, realising that both of them were staring at him with an entertained, affectionate look on their faces.  “Alright.  Now I know that you guys are just messing with me.” he added, unable to resist smiling in return.

 

“Nooo…  Never!” Shepard said, though the mirthful expression never left his features.

 

“We totally agree with you, though.  Lean, agile and flexible _is_ good.” Ashley stated appreciatively.

 

“You did put on some bulk since we started serving together, too.” the other man remarked in turn.

 

“Yeah, Ash’s argument about biotics not allowing one to outrun bullets made quite a bit of sense, actually.” Kaidan began explaining, “And, after I found myself having exhausted both my shields and barrier while protecting that bomb on Virmire, I thought that I might as well put on enough weight to start wearing heavier armor.  Considering what we’re facing now, I’m rather glad I did.” 

 

He was really doing his best not to think too hard about everything that could’ve gone wrong on that day, though, or the terrible odds that they were still up against.

 

“Yeah, our enemies have a way of gaining numbers and using more high tech weapons, don’t they?” Ashley agreed, apparently sharing his concerns.

 

Shepard, however, appeared to still be too inebriated to start worrying about anything...  “I do miss watching you wear light armor, though…  The way it used to cling to your ass…”

 

Kaidan’s eyes immediately shot wide.  “ _What?_ ”

 

“Ah, come on!  Surely you knew what that armor was doing for your rear end, Major.”  Shepard went on, as if openly discussing said rear end was the most natural thing in the world.

 

“No…  I mean, I-I never really thought about…” Kaidan stuttered a bit, feeling suddenly very self-conscious.

 

“Awww…  He’s blushing…  Shep is right, though.  Your tight little butt was looking mighty fine in that armor.” Ashley added with the same appreciative look that she’d had while previously talking about his ‘physique’.

 

 _‘God damn it, Ash, this isn’t helping!’_ Kaidan thought; looking away in order to try to cover his embarrassment.

 

“Let’s just assume that it’s the whiskey talking…” he stated, suddenly eager for a change of subject.

 

“And when you activate your barrier and it suddenly glows blue…  I just…  _Unf!_ ”

 

 _‘Oh. God.’_ “Shepard, please, _please_ tell me you _did not_ just go ‘unf’ while talking about the way my ass glows when I activate my barrier.” Kaidan said while hiding his face between his hands.

 

“You should be happy, though, on a ‘butt battle’ between you and Vega, yours would win, hands down!”  Ashley went on.

 

 _“It glows…”_ Shepard added dreamily...

 

“I’m starting to think that this whole ‘drinking and relaxing’ thing was a bad idea…” Kaidan sighed, wishing that he could somehow vanish through the floor right now.

 

“Come on, I’m sure that deep down, you appreciate the love and admiration.” Ashley stated, reaching out and putting an arm around his shoulders to comfort him.

 

“Maybe…  _A little_ …”  he admitted, finally finding the courage to look back at her.  After all, if he wanted to be totally honest with himself, drunk or not, their compliments _were_ pretty flattering.  _However..._   “I’m just afraid that I won’t be able to stop thinking about my ‘glowing butt’ each time that I activate my barrier now.”

 

“At least now you’ll be sharing our distraction.”  Shepard said with a laugh, right before Ashley threw him a scornful look. _“What?”_

 

“Look, it’s not _that_ distracting.  It’s ah…  Like the moon!  It’s there, and looks pretty, and shines bright, and sure!  You like to take the time to admire it every now and then…  But even when you don’t look directly at it, its presence is always comforting, and you wouldn’t be able to imagine the night without it.” She offered instead, trying her best to help him feel better.

 

Kaidan could only stare back at her in shock and disbelief for a few moments...  “Wow.  That’s…”    He’s pretty sure there might have been some actual gaping involved, too.  **_“Wow.”_**   How was he supposed to respond to _that_?

 

“I’ll never look at the moon _or_ your butt the same way ever again…” Shepard chuckled.

 

“Brings the expression ‘mooning’ to a whole new level, that’s for sure.” Kaidan added, finally letting himself relax a little and join in the laugh.

 

_“It glows…”_

 

“Shepard.  Please, _please_ stop saying that.” Just when he was starting to move back towards his comfort zone...

 

“What?  Ash is right - it’s comfortable to know you’re there.” Shepard stated, wondering what the big deal was.

 

“Ah, I think you mean ‘comforting’.” Kaidan corrected with a little frown.

 

“Isn’t it what I said?” the other man asked, looking slightly confused.

 

“No, you said ‘comfortable’.”

 

Shepard smiled, suddenly moving closer to him.  “Hmmm…  That, too…  You’re really, really comfortable…”

 

“Yeah, a warm and inviting…” Ashley added, doing the same...

 

“…soft place to land…” Shepard continued, resting his head on top of Kaidan’s laps and closing his eyes – bringing his knees up to his chest and snuggling closer.

 

“…so comfy.” Ashley finished, doing the same on the other side.

 

“Uh…  Guys?”  By the time he’d gotten the chance to say anything or object, however, they were already both fast asleep.

 

 _‘Ah.  Great._ ’

 

\---

 

 _‘You know, maybe sharing a drink wasn’t such a bad idea after all.  Things have **finally** been very quiet around here for the last few hours...’_ Kaidan chuckled lightly to himself, while putting the final touches to his report.  He had to admit that he was rather pleased for having been successful in getting some _actual_ work done before the end of the evening.

 

All that was left for him to do now was, first, to put both Shepard and Ashley to bed before his legs ended up getting some serious cramps.  Second, do a quick revision of their reports.  Third, program Shepard and Ash’s copies to be sent to them _an hour before_ they were supposed to hand them in to the Council.  And last, but not least, join them into bed for a good night’s sleep.

 

Sure, he wasn’t going to let them get into any _actual_ trouble...  And sure, they would probably panic the next morning upon awakening several hours late with a huge hangover, realizing that they had nowhere near enough time to finish their work.

 

They would probably be mad at him for letting them sleep for so long while he’d been completing his own report...  Then start trying to look for a suitable excuse to present to the Council regarding why the two of them had been unable to finish their work on time, while their other operative did.

 

But, considering that he _did_ just do all of the _painfully boring_ Spectre paperwork for them, he figured that they would probably be quick to forgive him once their own copies suddenly came in, and they realized that he’d only been toying with them.

 

Besides, they really should know by now that he’d always have their backs.  Always there...  Always watching... 

 

Alright, maybe he was starting to take Ashley’s moon analogy a little too far, but still...  If he was their moon, then the moon had found itself a pair of twin suns...

 

Shepard and Ashley could be messy, impulsive, disorganized, and even a little irresponsible sometimes...  But these two balls of pure, vibrant energy burned so bright, and kept his life so warm, that he, too, could no longer imagine his existence without them.  The moon, after all, would never shine so bright without a sun.  Keeping them safe, letting them rest, and keeping watch over them was the very least he could do for being allowed to bask in their gorgeous light, and let that light reflect so profoundly upon him.

 

“I love you guys...” he whispered softly, immediately feeling Shepard tighten his grip on his thigh with a satisfied sigh; while Ashley let out a small sleepy moan, and rubbed her cheek against his other leg.

 

“Always...”


End file.
